Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio

Basil Jafri, Summer 2018

CCSWOH is the only refugee resettlement agency in Cincinnati and facilitates the processing of refugees before arrival, reception upon arrival, and then, where most of the work takes place, the resettlement of refugees once they are in Cincinnati. This is a manifold process and involves connecting our clients with all the resources that they need, social security, Medicaid, housing, childhood education, employment, transportation, the list goes on and on. The many parts of our lives that we don't think about, or only think about briefly, can be long and complicated for reasons ranging from paperwork to language barriers to gender norms. Also at CCSWOH, the clients are able to participate in English as a second language classes as well as a cultural orientation curriculum, which covers things such as financial literacy, job readiness, and healthcare in the US. My role at CCSWOH has been involvement, to some degree, in all of these processes. What took up much of my days was helping case managers with the actual case management, from taking clients to medical appointments to transporting furniture and everything in between. I also had the opportunity to develop a class on the US healthcare system, hygiene and nutrition for the cultural orientation curriculum.

I have learned many things during my time at Catholic Charities, and my experiences have strengthened my awareness of inequality at many levels of society like housing, food and healthcare, just to name a few. When refugees arrive in Cincinnati they begin with a blank slate in some regards. But this blank slate is what can make starting life here so difficult. Within the first weeks of arriving, our clients are caught in a whirlwind of medical appointments, struggles at the social security office, bus training, English classes, the search for employment and a completely new environment. All the while they are trying to survive on the $1,075 they receive upon arrival. Learning this has has reaffirmed my career path in medicine. By this, I mean I have wanted my future medical practice not to be restricted to the doctor's office or the hospital, and instead to extend out to the community. Knowing the struggle refugees go through upon arrival has shown me yet another population whose chief concern may not be maintaining optimal health, but rather, survival. As a medical student and future physician I want to take steps in the community around me to make health maintenance and disease prevention easily accessible to all.

My time at Catholic Charities above all has given me immense respect for the people who work here. The social workers' dedication to their work is nothing short of inspiring. “Case manager” is not a title to be tossed around lightly, they guide clients through many little and big parts of life, and quite often they handle several cases at once. The emotional, personal, and organizational intelligence required of the social workers in order to support the diversity of families with whom they work, baffles me. In short, I feel that this experience will make me a better doctor by humbling me to the work that people outside of medicine do in order to improve the welfare of others. I hope never to lose the perspective that allows me to understand people outside their position in the doctor-patient relationship, and allows me to understand the importance of support systems beyond the clinic.